


Field Trip to Stark Tower

by pattimajor



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Peter Parker, Disabled Character, Dissociation, Field Trip, Gen, Peter Parker Has Anxiety, Peter Parker Has Panic Attacks, Peter Parker's Field Trip to Stark Industries, Service Dogs, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:55:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24245374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pattimajor/pseuds/pattimajor
Summary: “Oh my god, dude, I can’t believe we’re going to Stark Tower for the field trip!” Ned exclaims.Peter stiffens. His class? At his safe place? At his home?
Comments: 8
Kudos: 1192





	Field Trip to Stark Tower

Peter clicked his fidget cube rhythmically, trying to keep his cool. He’s sure the students around him are annoyed by the sound, but it’s that or a full-blown meltdown, and Peter isn’t about to give Flash another reason to pick on him if he can help it.

He absentmindedly takes a paper from the stack being passed around, hears Mr. Harrington say, “Get those permission slips signed and back to me by next Wednesday,” and scribbles the instruction in his planner. The bell rings, and he stuffs everything into his backpack, heading for the door as fast as a definitely-not-enhanced teenager could reasonably go.

Somehow, Ned catches up to him before he can escape the building. Peter doesn’t mind, though. Ned knows he’s having a rough day and won’t pressure him to speak or stay in the crowd longer than necessary.

Or maybe not. Ned is practically vibrating with excitement. Did Peter disassociate through some big announcement?

“Oh my god, dude, I can’t believe we’re going to  _ Stark Tower _ for the field trip!” Ned exclaims.

Peter stiffens. His class? At his safe place? At his  _ home _ ?

No longer having the fidget cube in his grip, Peter grabs his backpack strap tightly, squeezing the stiff material between his fingers. He tries and fails a few times to ask for clarification, before frustratedly deciding he’ll text Ned later. Words aren’t working right, and he needs to get out of this environment.

Peter hastily signs,  _ loud. Leave now. Talk Later _ . He mentally thanks past-Peter for teaching Ned a few basic ASL words.

“Huh? Oh! Oh, of course, dude. I’ll text you later. Go on,” Ned replies, “Get out of this loud.”

_ Thanks _ , Peter signs, before fleeing to the car where Happy is waiting.

…

Peter walks into the kitchen for a snack, finding Tony already there. FRIDAY must have locked him out of the lab to force him to eat.

“Hey kiddo! How was school?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Seriously? ‘How was school?’”

“That was so adult-y of me, wasn’t it. Tell me anyway?” Tony laughed, tossing Peter a bag of chips.

“Not great. Senses were dialed to, like, 14 this morning. Tight hallways overcrowded with teenagers didn’t exactly help.”

Peter suddenly remembered the conversation with Ned, and the permission slip stuffed into the bottom of his backpack. He drops the now-opened chip bag on the counter, dashing to his room to grab his backpack.

“Peter?” Tony calls after him, confused. But Peter is back in an instant, not bothering to hide his powers in his own home. He drops the backpack on the floor and rummages through it for his planner and the permission slip.

Peter reads it, dismayed to see that Ned was right. The class field trip is to Stark Tower.

His class is having a field trip to his home.

Peter groaned. Tony looked over his shoulder to read the paper.

“Wow. Only you, kid.”

“I know. What do I do?”

Tony got a mischievous look in his eyes. Peter is getting really good at reading his expressions.

“Maybe you could be the tour guide!”

“No! Tony! I’m literally never downstairs in the low-level labs. I wouldn’t know how to give a tour!”

“Alright, alright. Hmm…”

Peter looked at Tony hopefully, “Could I just not go? It’d be pointless anyway. Why take a tour around my own home?”

“Sorry, Pete. Pepper would never let me let you skip school just because the field trip is downstairs. You’re definitely going.”

Peter sighed in disappointment as Tony grabbed a pen and signed the permission slip.

“Fine, I’ll go. But you have to promise not to embarrass me in front of my whole class. Flash is annoying enough as is.” Peter suddenly had a revelation. “Oh no. Flash will be here. He’ll probably try to prove that my ‘internship’ was never real.”

“Is that kid still bothering you about that?”

“He’s obsessed with it. I can’t figure out why. All he ever seems to talk about is that I’m lying about having an internship at Stark Industries.”

Tony was quiet for a moment.

“Well, you know the higher level interns well enough from collaborating on projects. Maybe I can divert one of them down to the tour for a Q&A or something. If they’re asked, they’ll answer with enough leeway for your internship to be possible at least.”

“That’s probably the best we can do, isn’t it. The truth is way too unbelievable to satisfy their questions.”

…

“Peter, don’t forget your printed badge. I know FRIDAY will let you in without it, but using the badge will prevent any issues with the lobby security,” Tony reminded Peter at breakfast.

Peter nodded.

It was field trip day. Peter was just glad it would be over soon. He packed light, just his planner, headphones, and a small selection of stim toys in his backpack. And his badge, which he had almost forgotten before Tony’s reminder.

…

Ned talked excitedly at Peter for the whole bus ride. They filed out of the bus and into the lobby with the rest of their class.

“Ok class, listen up! This is our tour guide, Sarah. I expect you all to be on your best behavior,” Mr. Harrington announced.

The students’ chatter quieted down. Even the most talkative students were excited for this tour.

“Welcome to Stark Tower, Midtown High students! I’ll be your tour guide today! My name is Sarah. We have very strict security here, so we’re going to start by passing out all of your security badges. They are guest level badges and will be automatically deactivated after you leave today, so you are welcome to keep them as souvenirs!”

Peter pulled his badge out of his backpack quietly while the others were distracted by listening for their name to be called. Many students laughed when Sarah called “Roger Harrington” and Mr. Harrington hastily informed her that that was him. Unfortunately, Flash had an unhealthy obsession with Peter’s internship and noticed when Sarah didn’t call Peter’s name.

“Are you forgetting someone?” Flash called out after the badges were distributed. Mr. Harrington looked confused too, even more so when he saw Peter wearing a badge that hadn’t just been passed out.

“Does anyone not have a badge?” Sarah asked the class, looking concerned. When nobody answered, she shrugged. “Alright, follow me to the security line. Please empty your pockets and place all belongings on the belt, then walk through the scanner and retrieve them on the other side.”

Flash walked over to Mr. Harrington urgently, “But, Mr. Harrington, Parker didn’t get a badge! She never called his name! He must have a fake badge!”

Ned opened his mouth to defend Peter, but Peter pulled him towards the security line, “Don’t bother, Ned. He won’t listen.”

As the class gathered again on the other side of security, Flash glaring at Peter ever since he scanned his badge and walked through with no trouble, Sarah spoke again. “Stark Industries has many levels of badges that allow access to different areas of the Tower. As I said earlier, you all have Guest badges, which is the lowest level of access. With them, you can only enter elevators or locked doors with the supervision of an employee, so don’t wander off! Guest level badges have no color border on them.

“Black borders are for security. Yellow, green, blue, and purple are for various specialized staff-”

Flash cut her off, having noticed the border on Peter’s badge, “Is red even a possible color?”

“He got through security, Flash, it’s obviously not a fake badge,” Ned retorted.

Sarah answered, “Yes, red is possible. It’s a very impressive rank, too. Red borders are for those close to Tony Stark himself! From my understanding, they have access to all areas of the Tower. Now, if you’ll all follow me to the elevator, the first stop on our tour is…”

Peter followed near the back of the group, trying to avoid attention and ignore Flash glaring at him.

…

As they stopped in the main area of an intern lab, Peter pulled a fidget spinner out of his backpack. Field trips are exhausting.

“Ok everyone,” Sarah announced, “you all are in for a very special surprise! One of our high level interns has cleared a spot in her busy schedule to come down here and talk to you all about Stark Industries internships! That subject is a common inquiry in educational tour groups, so take this opportunity to ask any questions you have.”

A woman, who Peter vaguely recognized, walked up to Sarah. He saw the service dog walking next to her, and remembered working with her team on a project last month.

“Hello, Midtown students! My name is Lauren. I’m a grad student and have interned at Stark Industries for 3 years now. I work with the teams responsible for StarkPhone development. Before we get started, does anyone have anything specific they’d like to hear about in regards to SI internships?”

One of the students who is usually asleep in Peter’s writing class raised his hand. “Are interns allowed to bring their pets?”

If it wasn’t for the Poodle laying at Lauren’s feet, Peter would think that’s a ridiculous question.

“No, Stark Tower has a strict no pet policy, including for employees. My dog is here because he is a trained service animal. Any other questions?” Lauren replied.

MJ raised her hand, “What’s the application process for an internship?”

Lauren looked relieved to be past the dog focus. Peter supposed she must get dog questions a lot.

“Generally, college students majoring in STEM subjects can submit internship applications anytime after their first semester. Applications are reviewed individually and the most qualified applicants are selected for openings in the intern program here at SI. It is very rare for anyone younger to receive an internship, but not unheard of.”

_ Just enough opening for my situation, without too much detail. Tony picked a good intern for this Q&A, _ Peter thought.

Then Flash raised his hand. Peter flicked his fidget spinner a bit harder.

“What’s the youngest an intern has been?”

“Like I said, it’s very rare for anyone younger than college-age to be chosen. However, Tony Stark’s personal intern is a particularly gifted high school student. I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with him on a project, and it’s clear that he has an exceptional mind, especially for someone his age.”

_ That’s enough, no more information. _ Peter thought.

“What’s his name?” Flash asked.

_ No, no, please don’t say my name. _

Lauren gave Flash an apprehensive look, “For privacy reasons, I’m not authorized to share the names of specific interns or employees without their direct permission.”

A few more questions were asked and answered before Flash raised his hand again. Lauren glanced around for another hand, but none were raised. She reluctantly called on him again.

“Do you know if there’s an intern here named Peter Parker?”

Peter switched his fidget spinner for a stress ball to squeeze.

“Like I said, I’m not authorized to share the names of any interns or employees. That includes confirming if one exists or not.”

Flash turned to Peter, “So, you’re not going to prove it? I knew your internship was fake!”

“Flash,” Mr. Harrington warned, “If you can’t behave, you will be escorted back to the bus to wait for the duration of the trip.”

Lauren watched the interaction with confusion, then seemed to recognize Peter. She smiled, then began to wrap up the Q&A session.

“Ok everyone, I’ll let Sarah take it from here. Enjoy the rest of your tour!”

…

They were finally headed back to the lobby. Peter was exhausted, anxiety vibrating in the back of his head. His hands shook, nearly dropping the fidget cube he held.

As they approached the elevator, Peter heard a familiar voice coming from one of the nearby labs. The door opened and out stepped Tony. In front of his entire class.

_ But he’s never down at this floor. What’s he doing? _

“Ah, Peter! Matt said you were around. What are you taking a tour for? Your shift in the lab is in half an hour.” Tony turned to Mr. Harrington, “You don’t mind if I borrow him, do you? No reason to make him go all the way to school just to come right back. He can start his shift early.”

Mr. Harrington looked startled. “Uh, of course, Mr. Stark, I just… Peter? I need confirmation from your guardian if you’re going to leave the group early. You can… text them?”

Peter anxiously nodded and pulled out his phone. He heard Flash blubbering some shocked exclamation about  _ Tony Stark asking for Peter Parker by name _ as he opened the text app, then…

_ Tony is my legal guardian now. He’s standing right there and can’t text back. What do I do? _

Peter took a shaky breath, thinking quickly, and opened the program that lets him type to FRIDAY.

_ FRIDAY, can you reply to me through Tony’s number when I text him if I can stay at the tower instead of coming back to school? _

_ Yes, Peter. _

Peter hastily opened the text app again, suddenly very glad he had Tony’s number labeled as ‘Father Figure 3.0’ instead of his actual name.

_ Can I stay at the Tower instead of going back to school? It’s lab day, so I’d just have to come back anyway. _

FRIDAY’s reply was near instantaneous.

_ Of course, Peter. Why waste that taxi money? Tell your teacher it’s fine. _

Peter looked up to see his class still gawking at Tony, who stood there with his CEO-smile plastered on his face. It looked so odd to Peter, who was used to Tony’s real smile. He muttered goodbye to Ned and MJ and walked to the front of the group.

Mr. Harrington looked at the text on Peter’s phone screen and nodded. “Ok, uh, I guess we’ll… see you at school on Monday, then?”

Peter awkwardly nodded, “Yeah, bye Mr. Harrington. Thanks,” and followed Tony back into the lab he’d come out of.

The door safely shut between them and his class, Tony put a hand on Peter’s shoulder comfortingly. “You good, kid? For a second, I wasn’t sure we’d pull that off.”

“Yeah, I just texted FRIDAY and she replied through your number.”

“Good thinking. Let’s let them leave the floor, then we can go upstairs.”

Peter looked around, taking deep breaths to calm himself. The lab was empty.

“‘Matt’ doesn’t exist, does he? You were just waiting in an empty lab to free me from the field trip?”

Tony glanced at the floor in embarrassment. “I asked FRIDAY how you were doing and she told me you were exhibiting signs of stress, so I devised a plan to get you out of the situation.”

Peter was quiet as they made their way to the private elevator. The hallways were drastically quieter without 35 highschoolers crowded into them.

“Thanks, Tony,” he said as the elevator began to lift them to the private floors.

“No problem, kid.”


End file.
